Commission: Refunds from 5 Major Online Travel Agencies

A significant step toward strengthening consumer protection in the field of air travel is being taken, as major online travel platforms Expedia and Lastminute.com have committed to refund consumers within 14 days in cases of flight cancellations by airlines. These commitments resulted from a dialogue with the European Commission and the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network.

According to the Commission, the two platforms agreed to transfer refund amounts to consumers within 7 days of receiving the funds from airlines, ensuring that the full refund reaches consumers within 14 days. They also stated that all pending refunds have now been processed.

In addition to issuing refunds, the companies have committed to:

Providing clear contact information (phone, email) on their websites.

Clearly explaining the benefits of service packages they offer.

Informing consumers explicitly about their legal rights in case of flight cancellation (re-routing or refund).

Clarifying the implications of intermediary services, especially in cases of multi-leg journeys.

Specifically, Lastminute.com announced it would begin implementing most of its commitments from July 1, 2025, with full implementation by September 1, 2025. Expedia confirmed it already complies with all relevant requirements.

The dialogue, led by the Swedish Consumer Agency, aimed to encourage online travel agencies to voluntarily adopt practices that enhance consumer protection, awareness of their rights, and compliance with EU legislation. It builds on the 2023 coordinated action led by the CPC Network, which secured similar commitments from Edreams ODIGEO, Etraveli Group, and Kiwi.com.

The network of European consumer protection authorities will monitor whether Expedia and Lastminute.com implement their commitments as agreed. It will also continue monitoring Edreams ODIGEO, Etraveli Group, and Kiwi.com, and promote these commitments to other online travel agencies.

Previously, Lastminute.com had been the subject of a national enforcement action by the Swedish Consumer Agency, during which it agreed to comply with commitments for the Swedish market. With its new agreement with the CPC Network, the company now states it will uphold these commitments across the entire European Economic Area. Expedia voluntarily made its commitments without being subject to enforcement measures at either national or EU level.

Under EU passenger rights, airlines that cancel a flight are required to refund the ticket price within 7 days once the passenger chooses to receive a refund. However, tickets are often purchased via intermediaries ("online travel agencies"). The 2023 commitments now adopted by Expedia and Lastminute.com bring clarity to such cases: consumers will receive their refunds within 14 days at the latest. This also contributes to creating fair and equal competition in the air travel industry.

In November 2023, the Commission proposed new rules to strengthen enforcement of passenger rights in the EU and for multimodal travel. These proposals foresee the same 14-day refund deadline via intermediaries for canceled flights. Both these proposals and the earlier 2013 proposal on air passenger rights are currently under negotiation by EU co-legislators.

The CPC Network is a network of authorities responsible for enforcing EU consumer protection law. To address cross-border violations, these national authorities—supported by the European Commission—coordinate investigations and enforcement actions. This cooperative framework is governed by the Regulation on Consumer Protection Cooperation.